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This story was originally a manga by Nightow Yasuhiro and then later adapted
into a TV series by the anime studio Madhouse. Although the two diverge in a
number of small points and even a few major points, they retain essentially
the same basic story and character. They paint a very strong picture for the
audience to immerse themselves in. More common in TRIGUN than other Space
Westerns of the year is its strong humorous element.
As
the story begins, it seems to be a sort of CITY HUNTER in space, with
comedy clearly in the foreground. Vash is a wanted man, but he's kind of
klutzy and strange. And those sent after him don't seem to be too normal
themselves, as Millie and Meryll don't seem to be the type you'd send after
a dangerous man. And as the characters introduce themselves and interact,
the emphasis seems to be on fun rather than on a serious plot.
But,
despite all the jokes, there is a hint here and there of something
extremely serious in the story. As the series progresses, the comical bits
become shorter and shorter as we learn more about the background of the
colonists, and the sinister element after Vash begins to show its hand. The
pacing of the manga initially is rather inconsistent. Things will seem to
move very slowly with no character or plot development and then suddenly
major pieces will be revealed. Yet, once a revelation happens the story
returns to meandering around with no seeming point.
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Nightow
uses scratchy, sketchy fine lines for his art. It gives it a raw
edgy feel. His character designs are quite good giving enough originality to
each character to be able to tell them apart quite easily. There are a
couple of times when you notice that his range of facial styles does not
vary that much, though. The world he depicts is rich and full of extremely
unusual and improbable characters.
The
way Nightow draws his fight sequences early on is extremely confusing.
It is frequently hard to tell what events happen in what order and how the
final outcome was reached. By the third volume this becomes much less of a problem.
In TRIGUN MAXIMUM, Nightow finally seems to
hit his stride in terms of drawing coherent, well-paced action scenes as
well as originality of characters' facial expressions.
Nightow
will frequently draw entire scenes where the foreground is entirely
integrated into the background, giving a strong sense of place. A bustling
market with the main character in it looks like a bustling market—not
just a set for the main character. When Nightow zooms in to a specific set
of characters the background tends to drop away so that nothing distracts
from the characters, delivering a very strong and personal focus.
Next: From Seed to Plant
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